Philip José Farmer Short Stories/Novellas

Jones was on his way on a Luxury Liner when it was suddenly blown up. He is captured by a robotic enemy submarine. The secret high-tech sub has a robot with a definite female voice and character and "she" is a weapon of war. It drugs, prods him and even probes his psyche, then announces it needs Jones's help. But Jones's problem is he needs to overcome his claustrophobia of dark places to save himself. And to save himself he needs to save the submarine. This story under the varient title "Son" in Strange Relations.

In a dystopian future, brilliant but arrogant scientist Dr. James Carroad conducts a shocking experiment on his unborn son to impress the Secretary of Science. Using a powerful mind-reading machine, Carroad taps into his child's thoughts - with disturbing results that call into question the nature of free will. As secrets from the past resurface, his wife Jane starts to realize the horrific implications of her husband's hubris.

Two stories from Science Fiction Grand Master, Philip José Farmer. Heel — There's a great movie being made thousands of years in our past. The Director is Zeus and the screenplay writer is Apollo. Their actors are Achilles and the cast of the Trojan war. Only they're not aware of even what a movie may be. The gods/crew of the movie all have different motives. But it should all make for a great epic. The Wounded — What happens when the Master of Love gets smitten?

Humanity colonized the star one hundred years ago. Their's is not the only intelligent species on New Gaul. The planet's three intelligent species have an uneasy peace given to them by the "Skins" that allow them to communicate. These skins do more than allow these three disparate species to understand each other's languages; they also force empathy and compassion and deter violence. Rastignac believes that the skins have stopped man's growth and forced an unnatural stagnation on a species that was built for violence. And violence is the only solution.